Industry_Questions.docx

Amendment 0003 Question 1: There is some confusion on SOW section 2.1 regarding DODI 5000.02. Please clarify if the program manager will assist in completing the document Please see revised SOW.

Question 2: The power consumption limitations do not appear adequate for the equipment required in the specification. Will it be a requirement for the end user to provide the necessary power requirements at the place of performance?

Yes, it will be a requirement for the end user to provide the required power requirements at the place of performance.

Question 3: Is it up to the vendor to decide to use the 1 available 250V 3phase receptacle, if needed, and if so, what is the amperage rating of said device?

Yes, it will be up to the vendor to decide to use the 1 available 250V 3 phase receptacle if needed. The amperage is 50A.

Question 4: Does the Government require a VDI-type solution?

No, the Government does not need a VDI-type solution.

Amendment 0002 Question 1: Is the winning vendor required to provide RMF Information Assurance Certification for the system/hardware specified in Section 3.0 of the solicitation?

This is not necessary other than basic partitioning setup per DoD STIG using Ivm on all systems.

Question 2: Is the winning vendor responsible for creating the report and analysis of the 11 elements of the CCA, per Table 9 of DODI 5000.01, Enclosure 1?

Please see the updated verbiage in the SOW.

Question 3: Is the Government opposed to the use of SLURM vice Torque/Maui.

The Government would accept SLURM as an alternative to Torque/Maui.

Question 4: The Government indicates that they want 2 versions of ANSYS and the Intel compiler. Is the Government going to manage the multiple versions (eg: use/build environment modules)?

Government will be providing/installing this software (ANSYS, Intel compiler). Management of government-installed software is not a vendor requirement. Also see answer to Question 7.

Question 5: Does the Government want the ability to easily upgrade/manage versions (referring to the multiple versions of ANSYS and Intel compiler mentioned in the question above)?

Management of government-installed software is not a vendor requirement. Also see answer to Question 7.

Question 6: What role do the head/graphics and head/storage nodes do?

The head/storage node is the main head node for controlling the cluster (resource manager). The head/graphics node provides failover capability and allows graphics work on data stored on the cluster.

Question 7: If there is a reason to have the graphics card in the one head node, as currently specified, additional software may be required. However, it is not clear if this is the case or, if so, which software would be needed. Please advise.

The Contractor will need to provide the software listed below:

· Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Entry Level (Head/Storage Node and Head/Graphics Node)

· 1 Year license Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server for HPC (all Compute Nodes)

· Torque Maui Ganglia Software (or SLURM) and/or scripts for cluster management and node provisioning The other software does not need to be installed by the vendor. However, the vendor does need to demonstrate that the cluster can successfully run the other software over multiple nodes using the Infiniband network Question 8: The specification list appears to be missing some key details, including but not limited to, MPI stack and CUDE/OpenCL/OpenACC. Please advise.

The MPI stack would be a part of the Intel compiler, which the Government will install.

Question 10: Does the Government have a license server or would one need to be installed?

Management of government-installed software (including installation of license servers, as necessary) is not a vendor requirement. Also see answer to Question 7.

Question 11: Is the Government willing to accept alternate technologies where efficiencies can be gained, specifically with regards to the switches?

The Government is willing to consider alternate switch technologies as options, provided that the capability and performance of the alternate solution is equal to or greater than the specified technology.

Question 12: Is IPMI a requirement?

A working IPMI implementation is required.

Question 13: Is there a preference between SATA and SAS drives for the Head/Storage node?

The Government does not have a preference.

Question 14: The Brocade ICX-6450-48 only allows for 4 ports to be upgraded to 10G. Is this the requirement the Government is requesting?

Yes, this is the requirement the Government is requesting.

Question 15: Does the Government require a secondary port for dual Ethernet or IPMI to be used or should the 2nd Brocade switch be empty?

The other ports are to be used for IPMI as well as any expansion or integration of the older cluster.

Question 16: Is this a Brand name only request or will the Government accept equals?

Anywhere the Government has requested specific brands and/or model numbers, such as the CPU and video cards, etc… these indicate specific requirements. The Government will not accept equals.

Question 17: Can the Government provide form factors required on the following items:

· Head/Storage Node

· Head/Graphics Node (form factor and number of drives for the chassis)

· Compute Nodes (form factor and number of drives for the chassis)

· High Memory Compute Nodes (form factor and number of drives for the chassis) All components need to be “rackable”, otherwise there are no additional form factor requirements.

Question 18: What Linux support level is the end user looking for?

The Government is looking for Redhat (self-support).

Question 19: High Memory Compute Nodes and Compute Nodes have no mention of OS drive capacity. What is the actual Government requirement?

The Government is looking at diskless systems on the nodes, with the knowledge that the cluster boot-up time would be slightly slower but the power usage and maintenance requirements would be lower.

Question 20: Please provide additional information regarding the power consumption limitation of the facility.

Power consumption limitation is as follows:

· 1 – 250V 3-phase power receptacle

· 2 – 250V 1-phase power receptacles

· 2 – 115V 30amp receptacles

· 12 – 115V 20 amp receptacles Question 21: Are the vendors able to send a fully assembled rack or will the end user populate the rack after delivery?

The system should be fully assembled, limited only by shipping requirements.

Question 22: Please provide additional information regarding required software and/or scripts for cluster management and node provisioning. Is there a specific product required or are there at least previous interactions with such?

Other than the items normally shipped by vendors as part of the package, the Government has no specific requirements. The Government does expect basic scripts in place for setting up DNS/DHCP, node and network provisioning.